You may know about Don Day, the foodie. But you may not know that, in addition to eating and drinking, I have another obsession. Between meals, I enjoy doing things like pruning and planting, hoeing and sowing.

Yes, Don Day has two very, very green thumbs and, in San Miguel de Allende, the way I keep the nails of those thumbs suitably filled with soil is by volunteering with Audubon de Mexico.

Audubon does so many good things in this town. Their contribution to solving the crisis at the Presa Allende and saving it from invasive water hyacinths is, by itself, an extraordinary task.

I am personally involved in a much smaller but, I think, still quite important project. It’s Audubon’s Pollinator Habitat Education Garden in Parque Juarez and it’s there that we have an exciting (well to me anyway) upcoming project. We have a plan to source a lot of new plants to attract a lot of new pollinators. We only have one problem…how to pay for all of those pretty new additions.

So, it’s back to that other obsession and, hopefully some help from you.

Next month, Don Day’s Chef (aka Don Day’s Wife) will be creating a multi-course French dinner at our home with the majority of the proceeds going to purchase those plants that are going to lure those birds, bees and butterflies.

Chef Sharon will be preparing some regional classics including Endive Niçoise, Soupe de Poireaux et Pourpier, Pâté de Campagne, Bouef Bourguignon and Gâteau à la Mousse au Chocolat. I will be pairing each course with an appropriate French wine.

The date is Friday, February 9. The start time is 6:00 pm. The address is Salida a Queretaro 154A. The price is 2000 pesos per person. Space is, obviously, quite limited and reservations can be made by email at dondayinsma@yahoo.com. 

Audubon de Mexico does so many things to save and enhance San Miguel’s natural resources. The Pollinator Garden is my personal favorite of those projects and perhaps it has something to do with knowing that, without pollinators, a lot of foods wouldn’t exist (imagine a world without chocolate). Here’s hoping that you’ll eat, drink and help Audubon next month. And also hoping you’ll check out Audubon’s webpage at http://www.audubonmexico.org/nature-in-the-city/parque-juarez-pollinator-garden/ and consider becoming a member.